Clock setting and regulating mechanism



Feb. 1, 1955 H. c. DOANE 2,700,867

CLOCK SETTING AND REGULATING MECHANISM Filed NOV. 5, 1949 attorneys United States Patent CLOCK SETTING AND REGULATING MECHANISM Harry C. Doane, Flint, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application November 3, 1949, Serial No. 125,335 11 Claims. (Cl. 58-80) The present invention relates to a clock construction which is particularly adapted for use on vehicles wherein the clock may be so mounted and located on the instrument panel that the rear side of the clock is not readily accessible.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a clock construction in which both the setting mechanism for the hands and the regulating mechanism for varying the clock speed can be conveniently operated from the front of the clock.

In the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, the setting and regulating mechanisms are provided with coaxial or concentrically arranged operating shafts which extend forwardly through aligned openings in the dial and cover glass to provide a simple and compact construction.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a front elevation of the present clock.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary section taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section with parts broken away taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. 2

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section with parts broken away taken substantially on line 44 of Fig. 2.

In the drawing only those parts of the clock have been included which are necessary to an understanding of the present invention. The clock movement or timing mechanism for operating the clock may be of any known construction and only the conventional hairspring for the balance wheel and the gear train for operating the hands have been shown together with a regulating mechanism associated with the hairspring and a setting mechanism associated with the gear train which will be described hereinafter.

The clock includes a casing 6 with a suitable clock movement or timing mechanism 8 which is adapted to rotate the center arbor or shaft 10 carrying the minute hand 12 with a standard gear train including reducing gears 14, 16, 18 and 20 between the shaft 10 and a sleeve 22 carrying the hour hand 24.

In the present clock, the hands have been shown as movable in front of a polished target disk 26 over a graduated dial plate 28 provided with dots at five minute intervals with a figure ring 20 of transparent material such as the thermoplastic resins commonly known as Lucite or Plexiglas having the usual numerals painted thereon. The ring 30 is held between a retainer or backing plate 32 and a reflector ring 34 which forms a seat for a transparent cover 36 of glass or the like with a gasket 38 between the cover 36 and a bezel 40 which may be crimped to the casing 6 to secure these parts thereto. This particular dial and figure ring arrangement is provided to enhance the appearance of the clock with indirect lighting and it should be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to use with such arrangement but is applicable to any conventional dial and cover glass construction.

Referring now to the clock regulating mechanism, the balance wheel staff 42 is shown as provided with the usual hairspring 44 with the outer turn of this spring passing through a slot in a regulator arm or lever 46 on a shaft 48 which is adapted to be rotatably adjusted to move the regulator lever to shorten or lengthen the effective length of the hairspring to regulate the period of oscillation of the balance wheel in the usual manner. In the present construction a lever 50 is secured to the shaft 48 at one end and provided with a gear segment 52 at its other end engaged by a pinion 54 which can be rotated to adjust the regulator lever 46. The extent of movement of lever 50 may be limited by means of a slot 56 to receive a pin 58.

As shown in Fig. 2, the pinion 54 is secured within the inner end of a hollow shaft 60 which extends outwardly through aligned apertures in the dial plate 28, backing plate 32, figure ring 30, and transparent cover 36. A flanged knob 62 is pressed into the outer end of the shaft 60 with a gasket 64 between the flange on this knob and the outer side of the cover 36 and a peripheral notch 66 is provided in the flange to receive a knife blade or similar instrument which may be employed to rotate the knob, hollow shaft 60 and pinion 54 to move the lever 50 and thereby adjust the regulator lever 46. To indicate the direction and extent of any desired adjustment, the figure ring 30 may be provided with the usual form of regulator scale 68 and a sleeve 70 with a pointer 72 may be secured on the hollow shaft 60 between the cover 36 and figure ring 30.

Referring now to the setting mechanism for the hands, a shaft 74 is provided adjacent its inner end with a gear 76 which is adapted to be engaged by an axial movement of the shaft with the gear 16 of the clock gear train, as shown in dotted line position in Fig. 2, whereupon the shaft 74 can be rotated in the usual manner to set the hands to any desired position. In the present construction the shaft 74 is concentric with the hollow shaft 60 and extends axially through the pinion 54, shaft 60 and regulator knob 62, and is provided with a knurled setting knob 78 on its outer end in front of the regulator knob 62. A spring 80 is interposed between the pinion 54 and gear 76 to normally retain the gear 76 out of engagement with gear 16 and the shaft 74 may be extended through a rear wall of the casing 6 and provided with a stop member 82 to engage the casing and limit the outward movement of the shaft when it is pulled to engage the gears for setting the hands.

It will be seen that the present concentric arrangement of the operating shafts for the setting and regulating mechanisms provides a simple and compact construction to facilitate any desired adjustments from the front of the clock. As shown in Fig. 1 the regulator and setting knobs, together with the regulator scale, can be conveniently located at the position usually occupied by the clock numeral six and as so constructed and located do not detract from the general appearance of the clock face.

Although mentioned heretofore it is desired to again point out that the present setting and regulating arrangement is not limited in its application to the separate dial plate and figure ring construction which is shown and described herein but is contemplated for use with any known clock dial construction and design. A conventional dial consisting of a single plate having the clock numerals and the present regulator scale with both the hands and regulator pointer in front of this plate could, for instance, be substituted for the separate dial plate and figure ring. It should also be understood that modifications in the details of construction disclosed herein are contemplated as coming within the scope of the present invention as defined in the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A clock including a casing, a dial having numerals thereon, said dial being provided with an aperture located in the position normally occupied by one of said numerals, hands movable over the dial, means in the casing for regulating the clock speed, means in the casing for setting the hands, a shaft connected to said speed regulating means and extending through said aperture and operable from the front of the dial for adjusting said regulating means, and a second shaft concentric with said first shaft and connected to said setting means, said second shaft being operable from the front of the dial for adjusting said hand setting means.

2. A clock including a casing with a dial having time indicating numerals thereon and a transparent cover over said dial, hands movable over the dial beneath said cover, said dial and cover having aligned apertures in the position normally occupied by one of the numerals on said dial, means for regulating the clock speed including a hollow shaft extending through said apertures, a flange on said shaft in front of said cover having a tool receiving notch in the periphery thereof, and means for setting the hands including a shaft ccncentric with and extending through said hollow shaft with an operating knob on the end of said shaft in front of said cover.

3. In an automatically wound clock having a casing, a dial adjacent the front of the casing having a time scale thereon and hands movable over the dial, the combination of means for regulating the clock speed including a hollow shaft extending through the dial between the periphery of the scale of said dial and the outermost point reached by said hands upon rotation thereof, said shaft being operable from the front of said dial, and means for setting the hands including a shaft concentric with and extending through said hollow shaft and also operable from the front of the dial.

4. An automatically wound clock including a casing with a dial having a time scale thereon and a transparent cover over said dial, hands movable over the dial beneath said cover, said dial and cover having aligned apertures positioned between the periphery of the scale of said dial and the outermost point reached by said hands upon rotation thereof, means for regulating the clock speed including a hollow shaft extending through said apertures and operable from the front of said cover, a speed-indicating scale on said dial and a pointer on said hollow shaft movable over said scale, and means for setting the hands including a shaft concentric with and extending through said hollow shaft and operable from the front of said cover.

5. In a clock, a movement including a hairspring, regulating mechanism for said hairspring, a dial, hands cooperating with said dial and driven by said movement, setting mechanism for said hands, actuating members for said mechanisms located in front of said dial in the position normally occupied by one of the numerals on the dial, and means for connecting said members with their associated mechanisms, respectively, comprising two concentric shafts extending through the dial at said position.

6. A clock as claimed in claim 5, wherein the actuating members are in front of a crystal with which the clock is provided and wherein the two shafts extend through the crystal as well as through the dial.

7. A clock as claimed in claim 5, wherein means is provided for indicating the position of said regulating mechanism, said means comprising a scale and cooperating index one of which is on the face of the dial.

8. In a clock, a movement including a hairspring, regulating mechanism for said hairspring, a dial, hands cooperating with said dial and driven by said movement, setting mechanism for said hands, a tubular shaft extending through said dial at the position normally occupied by one of the numerals on the dial, gears connecting said shaft with said regulating mechanism, a second shaft extending through said dial inside said first shaft, means for connecting said second shaft with said setting mechanism, and operating members mounted on said shafts in front of said dial and substantially in the circular row of numerals thereon.

9. A clock as claimed in claim 8, wherein means is provided for indicating the position of said regulating mechanism, said means comprising a scale on the face of the dial, and a cooperating pointer carried on the tubular shaft.

10. In a clock, a movement including setting mechanism and regulating mechanism, a dial, hands cooperating with said dial and driven by said movement, independently operable actuating members for said setting and regulating mechanisms located in front of said dial in the position normally occupied by one of the numerals thereon, and means supporting said actuating members for rotation on a common axis, said supporting means extending through said dial.

11. In a clock, a movement including setting mechanism and regulating mechanism, a dial having a scale thereon, hands cooperating with said dial and driven by said movement, independently operable actuating members for said setting and regulating mechanisms, and means supporting said actuating members for rotation on a common axis, said supporting means extending through said dial at a location between the periphery of the scale of the dial and the outermost point reached by said hands upon rotation thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 236,017 Gerry Dec. 28, 1880 381,603 Zelly Apr. 24, 1888 2,000,600 Loeffier May 7, 1935 2,645,077 Olson July 14, 1953 

